HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Leland Walker scored 24 points with six assists and five rebounds, but Wyoming couldn’t overcome a major free-throw disparity in a 78-70 loss to Sam Houston State on Wednesday night at Johnson Coliseum.
“We told our guys you have to pack two things and that is defense and rebounding,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks. “We defended well enough to win and rebounded well enough to win, but we weren’t tougher than our problems tonight, we weren’t tough enough to be in the moment and go make the free throws and plays we needed to make.”
Wyoming (4-1) made six more field goals than the Bearkats but went just 9-for-22 (41 percent) from the free-throw line. Sam Houston State (2-2) finished 29-for-33 (88 percent) from the stripe.
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Nasir (Naz) Meyer scored 11 points, and Abou Magassa added 10 to join Walker in double figures.
Wyoming trailed 37-32 at halftime despite holding Sam Houston State to 37 percent shooting from the field. The Bearkats went 11-for-11 at the free-throw line before the break, while UW attempted only five free throws. Walker led the Cowboys at the half with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Meyer hit a 3-pointer and converted an acrobatic finish in the paint to give Wyoming a 14-13 lead early. Sam Houston’s Isaiah Manning responded with back-to-back 3s and a three-point play to build a 27-21 advantage with 7:25 left in the half.
Gavin Gores, the reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week, threw down his team-leading ninth dunk of the season and added a layup to spark a late UW push. Jared Harris, coming off a career-high 16 points against Portland, scored in transition to cut the deficit to 35-30.
Wyoming was 12-for-23 (52.2 percent) inside the arc but just 2-for-11 (18 percent) from deep in the first half.
Matija Belic opened the second half with an offensive rebound and putback as the Cowboys came out with energy. Walker and Meyer each hit a layup and a 3-pointer to pull within 46-44 at the first media timeout.
After the Bearkats stretched the lead to seven, Walker banked in a 3 to bring Wyoming within 62-60. Harris and Belic later had open looks from deep that would have given UW the lead, but both attempts rimmed out.
Magassa’s dunk made it 70-67 with 2:27 remaining, but the Cowboys could not get any closer down the stretch.
Wyoming had entered the night with a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series, including a 98-84 win in its only previous visit to Huntsville in 1990.
The Cowboys return home Sunday to face Norfolk State at 2 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.
